Mohammad Adib; Nafiseh Rang Zan; Amir Naserin
Abstract
Introduction The highest amount of water consumption is allocated to the agricultural sector, which has led to a water crisis due to increasing demand for food production and non-conservative agriculture and climate change in some countries. Sugarcane needs a lot of water during the growing season and ...
Read More
Introduction The highest amount of water consumption is allocated to the agricultural sector, which has led to a water crisis due to increasing demand for food production and non-conservative agriculture and climate change in some countries. Sugarcane needs a lot of water during the growing season and is sensitive to drought. In drought conditions and water stress, the intensity of reverse flow of water to the soil surface increases and can cause salinization of the soil around the roots of sugarcane, which is a relatively sensitive plant related to salinity. Due to the high-water consumption in sugarcane fields and also the shortage and decline of water quality in dry years, this study aimed to investigate the effect of conventional and deficit irrigation by variable and fixed alternate furrow irrigation on soil salinity and some nutrient concentration consist of phosphorous and potassium in sugarcane field. Materials and Methods To investigate the effect of irrigation methods on salinity distribution and concentration of phosphorous and potassium in soil, this experiment was conducted with independent variables of irrigation method treatment including conventional (complete) irrigation, variable alternate furrow irrigation and fixed alternate furrow irrigation, irrigation round treatment including before irrigation, after one and two times irrigation, sampling location treatment including bottom, middle and top of raised bed and sampling position treatment consist of start, middle and end of furrow. The experiment was performed factorially in a completely randomized design with three replications in sugarcane fields of MianAb in Susa. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software and mean comparisons were performed by Duncan's multiple range test. Charts were drawn using Excel software.Results and Discussion The results showed that irrigation method is mainly affects salinity distribution and concentration of phosphorus in soil. The fixed alternate furrow irrigation method had the greatest effect on soil salinity changes and reduced the salinity as compared to the conventional method and the variable alternate furrow irrigation. In general, in the conventional irrigation method (complete irrigation of all furrows) and variable alternate furrow irrigation, there is no constantly dry furrow as compared to the fixed alternate furrow irrigation method, and this intensifies the accumulation of salts on the sides and the top of raise beds. Increasing the frequency of irrigation (irrigation round) reduces the soil salinity so that in soil samples before irrigation, soil salinity was 2.30 dS/m and with one round irrigation, this amount decreased by 7.8% to 2.12 dS/m and with two rounds of irrigation reached to 2.09 dS/m. In terms of locative variation of salinity related to the fixed alternate furrow irrigation method, the lowest amount of salinity was observed in the bottom of the raised bed. With increasing distance from the beginning of furrow, an upward trend in soil salinity was reported. Regarding the change in the amount of available phosphorus in the soil under the influence of irrigation method, any of the deficit irrigation methods can be used as an alternative to conventional irrigation. The highest amount of soil phosphorus was reported in the middle of the raise bed. Soil potassium changes were not directly affected by irrigation method and the highest amount was assessed in the bottom of the raise bed. In terms of salinity, the lowest value was at the bottom of the furrows and the highest value was at the top of the raise bed. Unlike salinity changes, soil phosphorus had the highest accumulation in the middle of the raise bed and reached a minimum at the top of the raise bed. A relatively uniform trend was observed in changes in soil phosphorus from the beginning to the end of the furrow. Contrary to salinity changes, the highest amount of available potassium in soil was observed in the bottom of raise bed and a decreasing trend in soil potassium was reported from the beginning to the end of furrow. In general, based on the results, the average level of soil salinity and potassium and the highest amount of phosphorus were reported in the middle of the raise bed.Conclusion For optimal water use and soil salinity management, application of deficit irrigation methods especially fixed alternate furrow irrigation instead of conventional irrigation method, is recommended. In case of salinity and concentration of mentioned nutrients, the top of the raise bed in all three irrigation methods, would not be a suitable place for plant cultivation.
Saeed Mohamadi; Nafiseh Rang Zan; Habibollah Nadian Ghomsheh
Abstract
Introduction Due to the inefficiency of some chemical fertilizers of trace elements, the high cost of import organic fertilizers containing these elements and also the lack of proper uptake of phosphorus in soils in arid and semi-arid regions, and the desire to produce better quality products, the use ...
Read More
Introduction Due to the inefficiency of some chemical fertilizers of trace elements, the high cost of import organic fertilizers containing these elements and also the lack of proper uptake of phosphorus in soils in arid and semi-arid regions, and the desire to produce better quality products, the use of organic matter enriched with nutrients such as phosphorus and iron seems essential. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of comparing the effect of different levels of iron refuse and phosphate soil as an enrichment and investigating the interaction effects of enrichment on the growth components of tomato plants.Materials and Methods To study the effect of compost enriched with iron refuse and phosphate soil on tomato plant, pot experimen was conducted with experimental treatments including compost enriched with iron refuse at three levels of 0, 5 and 20%, compost enriched with phosphate soil at three levels 0, 5% and 10%. To prepare the potting soil before applying the treatments, 10% by weight of sand was added to the soil. Iron refuse were prepared from the factory of National Iranian Steel Industrial Group and phosphate soil from Esfordi phosphate company and after air drying, the percentage of iron and total phosphorus were measured using standard methods (wet digestion). Compost prepared from green space wastes was also digest to investigate some chemical properties. Obtained data were performed analysed in factoriall in completely randomized design with three replications. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software and mean comparisons were performed by Duncan's multiple range test. Charts were drawn using Excel software.Results and Discussion The results showed the highest plant height was observed in the treatment of 20% iron enrichment with 10% phosphorus enrichment at the rate of 57.9 cm. Comparisons of the mean effect of iron enrichment on total chlorophyll in tomato leaves showed that in general, with increasing the percentage of iron, total chlorophyll increased by 17.6 and 18.2%, respectively, compared to the control treatment. In other words, enrichment of compost with iron refuse increases the plant chlorophyll content by 39%, which is 34% for phosphorus enrichment. The maximum chlorophyll content of the plant was observed in the treatment of 20% iron enrichment with 10% phosphorus, which was not significantly different from the 20% iron enrichment treatment and 5% phosphorus enrichment treatment. Therefore, simultaneous enrichment of compost with iron and phosphorus can increase the quality of crops, especially leafy vegetables. According to the results, increasing the level of iron enrichment from zero to 20% caused 42.4% increase in plant dry weight, which is reported to be 24.9% for phosphorus enrichment. In general, as expected, with increasing the percentage of phosphorus in compost, the concentration of phosphorus in the shoot of tomato plant increased. Iron concentration in the plant increases by 10.9% with increasing phosphorus enrichment level from zero to 5%; In contrast, the use of phosphate soil at the level of 5% caused a decrease in zinc and copper concentrations of the plant by 21.5% and 15.2%, respectively. In many cases, the phosphorus and iron have reducing effects on each other due to the deposition of soluble iron in the form of insoluble phosphate compounds. According to the results of the present study, when an organic medium such as compost is used to add these two elements to the soil, the effect of organic matter on the formation of soluble chelates can increase the amount of avalable iron. Organic matter also has an undeniable effect on preventing the stabilization of phosphorus, which causes its release due to the direct decomposition of organic matter or the production of organic acids. Cupper was found to be more sensitive to increasing the amount of phosphorus in soil.Conclusion The use of enriching compounds by improving plant nutritional conditions can lead to improve effects of organic amendments such as compost. The use of phosphate-enriched compost and iron refuse, increased the yield of tomato plants. According to the results, high levels of enrichment to some extent limit the uptake of zinc and copper, which is related to the interaction of elements with each other and changes in concentration ratios. Due to the lack of micronutrients in most crops and horticulture and the competition of elements in the soil, in many cases there is a decline in product quality, so it is suggested that following the present study, some studies to be conducted to investigate the simultaneous enrichment of other micronutrients such as zinc and copper and balance dose of enrichment so that maximum absorption is achieved simultaneously for all target elements. The use of waste from different sources to balance the enrichment of organic materials, in addition to reducing costs, will lead to the recycling of large volumes of waste.
Plant Nutrition, Soil Fertility and Fertilizers
Hananeh Bahmaniyan; Habibollah Nadian Ghomsheh; Nafiseh Rang Zan
Abstract
Introduction With limited arable land available around the word, some ways can be used to increase the production per unit area to meet the increasing human need for food. In addition to quantity, consideration of quality of products can lead to improve communities’ health. So, in the last few ...
Read More
Introduction With limited arable land available around the word, some ways can be used to increase the production per unit area to meet the increasing human need for food. In addition to quantity, consideration of quality of products can lead to improve communities’ health. So, in the last few decades, application of organic and bio fertilizers has been taken into account in order to increase quantity of products as well as their quality. Mycorrhiza fungi are the most abundant microorganisms in the soil and are considered as essential factor in sustainable soil-plant system. The use of existing organic and inorganic fertilizers may stimulate the Mycorrhiza-plant root symbiosis and ensure the supply of nutrients to the plant for sustainable production. Filtercake is a main byproduct of sugarcane industry which is obtain during the processing of sugarcane syrup. Filtercake can be transformed into the valuable source of nutrients by biodegradation processes. Many studies have suggested that the use of fertilizers along with Mycorrhiza, especially phosphorous fertilizers, has negative effects on fungi symbiosis with plant root. Regarding this issue, the question arises that due to richness of Filtercake of organic matter, nutrients and microorganisms, is the Mycorrhiza interdependency affected by the addition of this organic manure to the soil? In order to answer this question, the present study was conducted to investigatethe interaction effect of Mycorrhiza(Glomus Intraradices)andFiltercake on coriander (Coriandrum Sativum L.) production. Materials and Methods In order to study the interaction effect of Filtercake and Mycorrhiza on the coriander production, a pot experiment was conducted in factorial completely randomized design with consideration of Mycorrhiza fungi (Glomus Intraradices) treatments at two levels of non-inoculation (m1) and inoculation with Mycorrhiza (m2), Filtercake in three levels of zero (f1), 1.5 (f2) and 3 wt.% (f3) with coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) as experimental plant in 4 replicates in the greenhouse of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University of Khuzestan during 2017-2018. Twelve weeks after sowing plants were harvested and considered parameters were measured. Data analysis was performed using SAS. Comparison of the meanings was performed using Duncan's test at 5% level. Excel were used to draw charts and graphs. Results and Discussion The highest plant height and root length were observed in treatment consist of Mycorrhiza and 3% Filtercake. Same trend was observed in case of aboveground (cilantro) and root dry weight. The presence of organic matter, increasing of quasi-hormonal activity and improvement of physical, chemical and biological properties of soil are among the factors that provide favorable conditions for vegetative growth and, as a result, increase plant yield. The application of Mycorrhiza increases concentrations of phosphorus, potassium, calcium and magnesium in cilantro, at about 103, 40, 16 and 12 percent, respectively, which are about 11, 105 and 31 percent in case of iron, zinc and copper. Mycorrhiza has a positive effect on the nutrients content in plant, which can be attributed to increased absorption through the fungal hyphae and also to the enrichment of the plant's rhizosphere. The concentration of nutrients in cilantro was significantly increased due to increase in Filtercake level. Since most of the nutrients in the soil are immobilized, the addition of Mycorrhiza fungi can help to improve nutrient uptake by increasing the volume of root access and stimulating the mineralization processes. Application of Filtercake along with Mycorrhiza improves the biological status of the fungi. Increasing the level of the Filtercake from 0 to 3 percent increases colonized Root length, Mycorrhiza interdependency and colonization percent by 51, 22 and 28 percent, respectively. According to the results, the use of Filtercake not only does not reduce the Mycorrhiza indices, but also increases them and act as a key factor for encouraging symbiosis of fungi and plant, so contribute to the enhancement of plant growth parameters. Conclusion In most of the studied characteristics, the maximum amount were observed in the treatment containing 3% Filtercake and Mycorrhiza. So, the simultaneous application of Filtercake and Mycorrhiza increased the growth parameters of the coriander. Although both of treatments (Filtercake and Mycorrhiza) have been effective in increasing the concentration of essential elements in aboveground part of plant, the effect of Mycorrhiza on increasing the concentration of phosphorus and zinc is greater than its effect on other elements, which is for iron and copper in case of Filtercake. The use of organic manure, such as Filtercake, even with high nutrient content, cannot affect the Mycorrhiza interdependency and other colonization indices due to the low release rate of these elements into the soil environment. It seems that the combination of Mycorrhiza and Filtercake by increasing the microbial and enzymatic activities in the soil and the separate application of Mycorrhiza and Filtercake by improving the access ability of the nutrients leads to provide better growth of the plant.
Soil Chemistry and Pollution
Vafa Bozar; Nafiseh Rang Zan; Habibollah Nadian Qomsheh
Abstract
Introduction Soil quality is very important because of the direct impact on agricultural production and the nutrition of living creatures. The use of urban and industrial wastewaters (as lower quality water for irrigation of plants to reduce raw water consumption) can lead to a gradual accumulation of ...
Read More
Introduction Soil quality is very important because of the direct impact on agricultural production and the nutrition of living creatures. The use of urban and industrial wastewaters (as lower quality water for irrigation of plants to reduce raw water consumption) can lead to a gradual accumulation of some heavy metals in the soil, which can enter the food chain and menace the health of creatures. Due to the high costs of the physical cleaning up methods, it is sometimes more logical to use methods that reduce the effects of contaminants in the environment. Materials and Methods For this purpose, a pot experiment with lettuce and spinach was conducted to investigate the effect of carbon black and hair waste (as adsorbent) on the concentration of cadmium and lead in plants, as well as fresh and dry weight as affected by contaminated water irrigation. Carbon black with defined properties was prepared by the Iranian Carbon Black Company. After collecting the hair waste, all was washed with raw water, diluted acid, and distilled water properly. Then the waste was air dried and ground as much as possible to make it uniform and increase the specific area to cause more reaction between the waste and soil. The waste was applied to the soil at a rate of 3 percent by weight. The carbon black was applied to the soil at the same rate as the hair waste. After preparing the pots, spinach and lettuce were planted in the pots and irrigated with contaminated water and harvested 60 days after sowing. At the end of the pot experiment, some growth parameters, as well as the uptake of some elements, including micronutrients and heavy metals, was measured by standard methods. The data were analyzed by using SAS and graphs were plotted with the help of Excel program. So, this study was carried out in a completely randomized design with three treatments, including carbon black (two levels of zero and three percent by weight), hair waste (at two levels of zero and three percent by weight), and irrigation water (at two levels of contaminated water and Non-contaminated) with 3 replications. Results and Discussion The results showed that the use of heavy metal contaminated water significantly reduced the growth parameters in both plants, which was significantly limited by the use of adsorbents, which shows the effect of adsorbents in reducing the negative effects of pollutants in the environment. The analysis of data showed that the effect of carbon black, hair waste, and irrigation water on fresh weight of spinach and lettuce was statistically significant (at the level of 1 and 5%). The interaction effect of carbon black and irrigation water on fresh weight of plants showed that the use of carbon black increased the fresh weight of spinach and lettuce from 16.65 to 19.68 and 11.38 to 16.68, respectively. In the case of treatment of 1.5% carbon +1.5% hair waste, the fresh weight of plants decreased significantly as compared to treatments without hair waste, as well as the control treatment. This can be due to the negative effect of hair waste on the physical properties of soil according to the short time of the research work (2 mounts). More or less, the effect of carbon black and irrigation water on iron, zinc, copper, cadmium, and lead content in both experimented plants was statistically significant. In the case of hair waste effect on iron and lead for spinach, iron and copper for lettuce were statistically significant. The irrigation with contaminated water decreased the amount of iron, zinc, and copper in the aboveground part of plants which is indicating the negative effect of heavy metals in irrigation water on root development and nutrient uptake, as well as competing through antagonistic relationships with micronutrients which are necessary for the plant growth. In the treatments containing 3% carbon black, the number of micronutrients in plants increased significantly due to surface absorption of heavy metal on carbon black and the reduction in the negative effect of heavy metals in soil. In the case of cadmium and lead, the reverse trend was observed. In spinach application of 3% carbon black decreased cadmium and lead content at the rate of 76% and 58%. In the case of hair waste, the effect on lead content at the rate of 25% was significant but for cadmium was not significant. In aboveground parts of lettuce, carbon black reduced cadmium and lead content at the rate of 69% and 54%, respectively. Same as spinach, the effect of hair waste on cadmium content was not significant. The results showed that carbon black had the highest amount of metal adsorption capacity and, therefore, can be more effective than hair waste. Conclusion According to the results, carbon black can be used in the agricultural system which requires more research in the case of its ability.
